I’m “just asking questions,” too: What if powerful, ambitious politicians are exploiting Jeffery Epstein’s life, victims, and death… simply to advance their own careers?
Gasp! It’s shocking, I know!
Of course, if this particular “conspiracy theory” turned out to be true:
- Grandstanding politicians such as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) would be making a beeline for every news interview, podcast appearance, and media opportunity they could, since their entire purpose is self-promotion.
- These politicians would claim to have uncovered jaw-dropping evidence that “they” don’t want us to see.
- When they finally reveal their blockbuster evidence, they get everything SPECTACULARLY wrong.
Which is exactly what took place on the House floor earlier in the week, when Rep. Khanna, speaking on behalf of Rep. Massie, spoke TRUTH TO POWER — and finally revealed the names of the six “wealthy, powerful men” that “they” tried to protect:
Now, my question is, why did it take Thomas Massie and me going to the Justice Department to get these six men’s identities to become public? And if we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those 3 million files? But the story gets worse. The reality is, that Donald Trump’s FBI scrubbed these files in March, long before Thomas Massie and I passed the Epstein Transparency Act. [emphasis added]
[Munches popcorn] Ooh, this is exciting: Khanna and Massie have ripped the lid off an FBI coverup!
(Although I do quibble with him saying “how many MEN they are covering up”: What about the women? After all, the only one in jail over this is a woman named Ghislaine Maxwell. Don’t be so sexist, Khanna. Women can be pedo-creeps, too. #equality)
Either way, it’s been excellent for Rep. Khanna’s career.
On Friday, Feb. 13, The Hill wrote: “Ro Khanna’s Role in Epstein Files May Be Catnip for Democratic Voters.”
When Rep. Ro Khanna took to the House floor this week to read aloud the names of six “wealthy, powerful men” whose identities were originally redacted in the Jeffrey Epstein files, it catapulted the California Democrat further into the national spotlight.
In recent months, Khanna has helped lead the charge around the Epstein case, meeting with victims and pushing for the full release of court documents. In doing so, he’s shifted the political narrative — framing the scandal not just as a saga of abuse but a broader flash point of wealth and power.
Now, as Khanna considers whether to run for president in 2028, he is quietly positioning himself as a leading voice in the progressive lane — one that could dominate if Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) decides to run for the Senate instead.
Hmm. If reading the names of the six “wealthy, powerful men” is what “catapulted the California Democrat further into the national spotlight” and the cusp of a presidential run, then those names must be REALLY important. I’m sure Rep. Khanna and his tag-team partner, Rep. Massie, acted like Santa Claus and checked — and then rechecked — those names.
After all, if you’ve been swearing up and down that there’s a grand, far-reaching conspiracy that includes the FBI, the president, and more, your credibility hinges on your big reveal. This is when the rubber hits the road.
So when you finally show your cards, they better not be counterfeit!
Oops:
Ro Khanna read the names of six people on the House floor and described them as "wealthy, powerful men" involved in Epstein's crimes.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 13, 2026
It turns out that 4 of them were just random people selected for an FBI photo lineup and had no connection to Epstein's crimes. https://t.co/upSpLpYR96 pic.twitter.com/bbANktq9zZ
.@RepRoKhanna and @RepThomasMassie forced the unmasking of completely random people selected years ago for an FBI lineup- men and women. These individuals have NOTHING to do with Epstein or Maxwell. https://t.co/9nPAMCU83n
— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) February 13, 2026
Yet recall how Rep. Khanna hyped his big reveal of those six “wealthy, powerful men” (courtesy of The Hill):
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) shared the names of the six men he claimed were “likely incriminated” in the Epstein files on the House floor Tuesday.
[…]
Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who together co-sponsored the bill that mandated the public release of the files, both went Monday to review the unredacted version of the files now available to lawmakers at a Justice Department office. The duo told reporters that in their two-hour review they saw six names they thought could face criminal culpability based on the content of the files, with Massie describing the group as being “likely incriminated.”
[…]
Khanna’s listing of the names on the House floor offers the lawmaker a degree of protection should any of the six men be interested in filing a defamation suit.
“Likely incriminated,” eh?
The Guardian attempted to reach the six “wealthy, powerful men” that Khanna and Massie insinuated were participants in an international pedophilia ring:
The Guardian spoke with two of the men whose names Khanna read out on the floor. They both strongly denied knowing Epstein at all; one said he didn’t realize his name had been mentioned on the House floor in connection to Epstein until the Guardian contacted him. The two men acknowledged they were arrested by the NYPD in the past for unrelated crimes, which could explain how their photos ended up in a photo array assembled by law enforcement.
Salvatore Nuarte, of Queens, New York, said he called Khanna’s office after hearing that his name was mentioned. “I don’t know if they know what they are doing over there at the justice department,” he told the Guardian. “But how can I clear my name?”
[…]
Leonid Leonov, whose name was incorrectly listed as Leonic Leonov in the files, but whose photo and birthday matches the file, is an IT manager in Queens. He vigorously denied knowing Epstein. “I don’t even have a second or third degree connection to him. Never worked for him, nothing,” he said when reached via phone.
The two other men Khanna named, Zurab Mikeladze and Nicola Caputo, could not be reached.
After his mistake went public, Rep. Khanna immediately apologized, accepted full responsibility, and pledged to make amends to the innocent people he falsely connected to an international pedophilia conspiracy.
Nah, I’m just kidding. He actually blamed the Department of Justice:
I appreciate @JSweetLI’s reporting confirming today that Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonid Leonov, and Nicola Caputo were just part of a photo line up and are not connected to Epstein's crimes.
— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) February 13, 2026
I wish DOJ had provided that explanation earlier instead of redacting then…
It’s unclear how a clerical error in redacting/redacting names led Khanna and Massie to reach their “likely incriminated” conclusion. Because before their big Epstein reveal was unmasked as a big nothing burger, they were adamant:
From CNN (Feb. 9): Lawmakers Suggest at Least a Half-Dozen Men Are Being Protected by Over-Redactions in Epstein Files
Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna charged Monday that powerful men are being protected by redactions to the Epstein files after viewing the documents in full.
“What I saw that bothered me were the names of at least six men that have been redacted that are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files,” Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said, adding that “it took some digging to find them.”
But the pair would not reveal the names of the men and only said the six included at least one US citizen, a foreigner, along with “three or four” other individuals whose nationalities they could not immediately determine. Massie said one individual was “pretty high up in a foreign government,” and Khanna said “one of the others is a pretty prominent individual.”
Previously, Rep. Khanna had harshly criticized disinformation and “misleading the public”:
Big Oil has spent billions of dollars misleading the public about climate change.
— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) October 27, 2021
For the first time in history, the industry will have to answer to Congress and the American people about its climate disinformation efforts. https://t.co/8IVtZsZZDt
Rep. Massie has played the “misinformation” card, too:
Contrary to what he says, @SpeakerJohnson is doing everything he can, including delaying the swearing in of the most recently elected member of Congress and spreading misinformation about the legislation, to block a vote in Congress on legislation to release the Epstein files. https://t.co/gOoH5Egcwa
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) October 6, 2025
Today, they’re exploiting the pain, anger, and heartache of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims to slander innocent people — and they’re doing so for personal political gain.
Which, in Washington, D.C., is the most predictable conspiracy theory of all.
One Last Thing: 2026 is a critical year for America First: It began with Mayor Mamdani declaring war on “rugged individualism” and will reach a crescendo with the midterm elections. Nothing less than the fate of the America First movement teeters in the balance.
Never before have the political battlelines been so clearly defined. Win or lose, 2026 will transform our country.
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